Fujifilm produces limited edition of 10,000 black X100s

CES 2012: Fujifilm has said it will produce a Black Premium Edition of its X100 large sensor, fixed lens camera in a limited edition of 10,000 cameras. The black X100s will come with matching lens hood, adapter ring, protective filter and leather 'ever-ready' case. Each will come in a presentation case with a numbered certificate encouraging buyers to use the camera. Beyond the color scheme and accessories, it will remain the same as the standard X100. Pricing hasn't been announced.

Press Release:

Limited Edition Black Fujifilm X100!

To celebrate the outstanding success of the X100, Fujifilm Corporation (President & CEO: Shigetaka Komori) are going to launch a limited edition black version of the camera. There will be 10,000 limited edition units sold worldwide.

Included as part of the X100 Black Premium Edition package is, a genuine leather ‘ever-ready’ case, a lens hood, an adaptor ring and a protective filter. Each package also has a card with a unique X100 Black Premium Edition number printed on it, identifying which of the 10,000 units it is. No more will be made once the initial stock run has sold out.

The camera is also equipped with the world's first "Hybrid Viewfinder", which switches between the optical viewfinder (OVF) and electronic viewfinder (EVF). It incorporates cutting-edge digital functions, whilst offering the operability of traditional cameras with the aperture ring at the lens and the exposure compensation dial on the top plate.

Since its launch, the camera has been regularly singled out as outstanding and has won numerous awards such as the TIPA, EISA and Camera GP2011 Editors Award.

Comments

If you make your purchases entirely on "spec sheet" reasoning, I'm sorry, but this camera just isn't for you... Find something else, leave it for someone who does like it and will know how to use it, not how it can automatically taylor itself to your particular needs... I'm guessing most of the negative comments have come from people who have never in their life enjoyed shooting film with a single focal length rangefinder, but for the most part (not all cases) have only shot in the digital age... There is a certain "magic" about images you create when you get more involved in the process (ie: moving your feet...). If you don't understand that, again I'm sorry..

Ok folks, let's just say that some of us drive cheap cars, and some of us drive expensive cars... I for one am on the cheap side, but when I can afford something I like, I'll do it. The X100 Black LE was the best purchase I've made in a camera so far, and although some of you maybe don't care about the asthetics of your camera, I do. The camera works incredibly well, the detail is amazing, and as a professional, I find that any camera that makes you want to go out and shoot with it is a good one.

And hey DPR, what's the point of such useful information below this comment as: "Comment edited 5 times, last edit 8 minutes after posting" ? Damn, I just can't catch up with your smart editing software ...

When did cameras first turn black? I was told it was for Press use way back. My old OM-1 was black and I loved the look but when it got scratched it showed up. Funny isn't it that mostly the natural colour of metal is silver and that of leather is brown but that is too ordinary for some of us. Excellent marketing, got their camera up in the news right on time for the CES. I love to see an adventurous company taking some risks, good luck to them.

The retail on the regular X100 is $1,200 USD. If you add the accessories from the retail price list they are including about $400-$450 USD worth of accessories, so premium for the black paint job is about $50-$100. For someone that wants all the accessories, I think they know the target market and it will probably sell well.

Fuji has just discovered a way to move 10,000 X-100s at a price well above the standard list price! But lets face it... they really missed the boat with the price. A $500 premium that includes a nice case and hood just isn't enough. They should have priced the special edition around $3,000.

To be fair, Leica invented the technique, but you have to give Fuji credit for seeing a good thing and getting on board. I suppose we will next see a "Titanium Edition" and a "Safari Edition" too.

Maybe Pentax could learn from this and issue a "very limited edition" of 100,000 Pentax Qs? It has to be worth a shot....

If it's like the black on my X10, it's a nice "wrinkle finish" paint job. Nothing wrong with that but it's nothing like Leica black chrome let alone their black enamel. Personally, I want a limited X10 in rose gold, with a German Zeiss lens that's actually made by Cosina in Japan.

I left after the Jesse Owens limited edition Leica (nobody remembers it but it did exist). Being that that Germany had not given Owens an especially warm welcome, this seemed like an odd product tie-in. As for the black X100 I assume its to give the camera a little more life what with the interchangble lens coming.

Guess that explains that rusty red (or is it just rusted out) Yugo you drive around in. Nothing wrong with marketing a limited edition model. Leica has been doing it for years, and some people have a large collection of these models.

This is exactly what happens when a restyling of a car model in imminent. Now with the X-Pro 1, something had to be done to keep selling the X100. Good Luck Fuji. BTW, I own an X100 and an X-10, so this is not a derogatory comment, but it seems to me that it will be harder for Fuji to sell the X100 from now on, and the lack of a 35mm (equivalent) in the three first lenses for the X-Pro seems to be part of the strategy too.

They are using the word bespoke blindly. Although the lens is specialy made for the camera but it is still a mass production item with one is exactly like the next in the production line. Not true bespoke at all. The marketing people really need to stop abusing the English language by changing meaning on words.

Why is it an abuse? If Fujifilm is only going to do a limited number of the cameras in black, then it's not an abuse. Since these camera has a special serial number or a number indicating its number in the run, it is a limited edition. Plus, the limited edition cameras get a special leather case. Just because you're not into special, or limited edition model, preferring a run of the mill model, that doesn't mean others don't like them. Especially the Japanese market. Do you only buy black or white T-shirts? Or, do you like them with a little color/design to set yourself apart from everyone else. Maybe you would have been happy to have lived in China when everyone wore their Mao jackets and caps?

This is actually a smart move IMO. Fuji must know that most of the people who found such niche cam like X100 appealing have already bought one by now if they were going to. Of the people who find it appealing but haven't bought one yet, a good percentage probably just didn't like the silver color. Now Fuji can pick up those sales too and at even higher profit margin.

"Not available yet" doesn't carry a premium... it's all for "limited". In fact if it sells well, the price will rise after release, as the stocks dwindle. So "not available for much longer" will carry a premium. :)

Looks good indeed. But I somehow feel that the X100 should have been black to begin with. But if the color is the only real change relative to standard X100 I would pass (not that X100 is a bad camera, but would deserve a few fixes)